“Boasting in the Lord”
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
2/28/16
I.
Sermon
Introduction
a. Have you ever heard a kid brag about his dad? His older brother?
b. He is bragging/boasting, but it’s about something
outside of himself
c. Here in 1 Corinthians 1 we are going to see that we as
Christians should boast, but not in ourselves
d. Scripture introduction
i.
Here in 1
Corinthians 1 Paul is talking about the divisions in the church caused by
intellectual favoritism
ii.
He insists that
the truth of God has nothing to do with the wisdom of man, but with the power
of God
iii.
He says that the
Gospel makes the wisdom of man, both Jewish and Greek, look foolish, and that
God delights in using the weak things of the world to glorify Himself
e. Scripture reading: "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
f. Prayer
II.
The Source of
Salvation (30A)
a. “And because of Him”
i.
Literally “from
Him”
ii.
Paul looks to God
the Father as the ultimate cause of salvation
iii.
We can’t even
take pride in the faith that accesses free salvation
iv.
DeYoung: "Believe
in Christ with all your heart, but don't put your faith in your faith. Your
experience of trusting Christ will ebb and flow. So be sure to rest in Jesus
Christ and not your faith in Him."
v.
1 Corinthians
15:10a: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was
not in vain.”
b. “You are in Christ”
i.
Union with Christ
is the ultimate path to salvation
ii.
It is the Gospel
iii.
How are we
saved? By being covenantally united to Christ
iv.
Galatians
3:26-27: “…for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For
as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
v.
Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore,
since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by
faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope
of the glory of God.”
vi.
All the benefits
of salvation flow from union with Christ
1. Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places…”
2. Legal benefits
a. Forgiveness
b. An inheritance
3. Spiritual/mystical benefits
a. Sanctification
b. The Holy Spirit
c. Communion with the Godhead
III.
The Benefits that
Flow from Union with Christ (30B)
a. They can all be summed up in wisdom
i.
“Sophia”—Wisdom,
insight, skill, or intelligence
ii.
Paul is
contrasting the divine path with the human path
iii.
Our eyes are
opened to the wisdom of God’s truth through Christ
1. Christ is the great revealer of God’s truth
2. Through Christ we are given spiritual sight
iv.
Wisdom=the plan
of salvation
b. The three parts of that wisdom/plan of salvation
i.
Righteousness
1. Quality of being just; acceptable to God
2. Romans 3:21-22: “But now the righteousness of God has
been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear
witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all
who believe.”
3. 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be
sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
4. Illustration: “Not guilty” verdict in a court of law
5. Those who are in Christ are right with God—declared
just
ii.
Sanctification
1. Hebrews 13:12: “So Jesus also suffered outside the
gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.”
2. Consecrate; set apart; make holy
a. Legal
i.
Definitive
ii.
1 Corinthians 6:11: “And such were some of you.
But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
iii.
This is probably
what Paul has in
b. Experiential
i.
Progressive
ii.
Ephesians
5:25-27: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the
washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to
himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might
be holy and without blemish.”
3. Illustration: Communion bread and wine are set apart for special use
4. Those who are in Christ are special and holy in God’s eyes and are becoming holier in practice
iii.
Redemption
1. A buying back, deliverance, the release secured
through payment—ransom
2. Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
3. Illustration: Old Testament redemption of enslaved brother
4. Those who are in Christ are bought back from slavery
to darkness
IV.
Application
a. These truths should humble us
i.
Paul gives us the
application in Verse 31
1. “So that”—these truths should produce this result
2. Paul quotes Jeremiah 9:23-24
ii.
The intended
result of “Calvinism” is to humble us
iii.
If your salvation
makes you proud of yourself, you should examine your heart to see if you are truly saved
iv.
John 1:12-13: “But
to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
v.
Remember the
context
1. Paul is contrasting carnal wisdom with divine wisdom
2. “I was smart, I asked Jesus into my heart”
b. These truths should make us grateful
i.
Our lives should
be continuous acts of worship to God
ii.
Service, song,
and study
iii.
Christ has
purchased us; He is our lord
c. These truths should teach us to rely on God
i.
He is perfectly
wise
ii.
He is
all-powerful
iii.
He is
perfectly-loving
iv.
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust
in the Lord with all your heart
and
lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will
make your paths straight.”
V.
Conclusion
a. So, in what (whom) do you boast?
b. Your own wisdom, righteousness, faith, etc.?
c. Are you boasting in your Father?
d. Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord
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